Randolph Carpenter


William Randolph Carpenter was a U.S. Representative from Kansas and a U.S. Army World War I veteran. He died in Topeka, Kansas, July 26, 1956 and was interred in Highland Cemetery, Marion, Kansas.

Biography

Carpenter attended local public and high schools in Marion, Kansas. He graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1917, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. He was admitted to the bar that same year and commenced his practice in Marion, Kansas. He continued his family's agricultural pursuits by maintaining his farm.

World War I

He joined the U. S. Army National Guard in Marion in 1917 as a Second Lieutenant and helped organize Company M under the Third Regiment Infantry, Kansas National Guard. During the First World War he was called to active duty and was transferred to Company M, One Hundred Thirty-ninth Infantry Regiment, Thirty-fifth Infantry Division which deployed to France in early 1918. He was promoted to first lieutenant during the Argonne offensive, and served until his discharge on May 8, 1919.

Marriage

He married Helen Frances Williams daughter of Fred Reed & Frances Elizabeth Williams on 15 July 1920 in Marion, Kansas.

Community service